Do you roll with it?

Exercise regularly? Got a marathon or half marathon race coming up? Keen cyclist or gym goer? If you have not been using a foam roller as part of your daily cool down/recovery routine your really are missing out.  

Not just for the elite athletes, foam rolling aka Self-myofascial release, is a form of self-message to release tight muscles  or trigger points (specific "knots" that form in muscles) as you put targeted pressure on your fascia.  The fascia is a fibrous layer of connective tissue that surrounds all of the muscles in your body.  If this layer becomes sore and restricted post exercise, muscles will also become restricted in their movement and this is not conducive to great performance and may ultimately lead to injury. This is where foam rolling can help. 

Once just popular among elite athletes due to the immediate and strong impact rolling has on their performance and overall recovery, many people have now discovered the fantastic benefits including:

1. Improved Circulation

2. Injury Prevention

3. Enhanced Recover

4. Reduced exercise related soreness

A foam roller will set you back between (£8-£35) depending on quality so a relatively inexpensive piece of kit to have at home. If you regularly suffer soreness after exercising, or exercise and want to reduce the chances of injury it is a must buy!!

Top tips on using a foam roller:

• Keep it slow (Roll over each area slowly and pause for 20 seconds on tight spots to relax the muscle and release any tension).

• Keep breathing as this helps facilitate the muscles to relax too.

• Avoid rolling the IT band, instead focus on the glutes for the stability they offer.

For further info and some great foam rolling exercises (especially runners) see this great Guardian article 

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/the-running-blog/2014/feb/28/foam-roller-runners-guide-muscles

Increase your energy and vitality today

Clients of Red Hot Personal Training often ask what are the things that they should focus on to increase their energy and vitality. The list below is by no means exhaustive but it’s a great starting point.  Remember unless you make the change nothing will change. 

Reduce your sugar intake.  Watch the sugar content of your food.  Keep a food diary and see how much sugar you actually consume throughout the day, it may just surprise you! Sugar can play havoc with your energy as you spike your insulin levels (that initial sugar hit soon followed by the slump) leave you feeling lethargic and can also lead to overeating. Learn to read labels for sugar content. Remember to look for "of which sugars" on food labels. (4kg = 1 teaspoon of sugar).  Aim to consume no more than 6 teaspoon of sugar daily. Especially limit fruit juice and fizzy drinks and also avoid drinks that look healthy but are secretly sky high in sugar.  Some so called "green smoothies/juices" have as much sugar as soft drinks. CHECK THE LABELS YOU MAY BE SURPRISED. Click on this link to read a blog we wrote last year about the sugar content in childrens packed lunches. https://www.redhotpersonaltraining.com/health-fitness-blog/2015/8/19/packed-lunch-ideas-for-kids-and-adults-alike?rq=sugar.

Make sure you take a brisk walk outside for at least 15 minutes a day.  A wood, forrest or green leafy park is best but a walk around your street will still count! Take time to appreciate the nature around you and focus on breathing deeply and calmly. This is great for boosting your circulation, working your muscles, fat loss, better sleep and a great mood booster too!

Top up your vitamin D levels with 20 minutes of sensible sun exposure to your arms and legs each day (not in the midday full sun).

Avoid blue light late at night.  Lots of interesting science is emerging on this topic and we think this is going to be a very important subject. This means turning off your mobile phones and tablets at least 1 hour before bed. 

Fill up on a rainbow of colors each day.  Fill your plates with a variety of vegetables as this allows us to gain a huge variety of vitamins and minerals that may be lacking in a bland “beige” coloured diet. Click on this link to read more on this subject. 

https://www.redhotpersonaltraining.com/health-fitness-blog/2016/4/18/eat-the-rainbow?rq=rain

The Joy of Pilates

Increased flexibility, incredible core strength, enhanced endurance and great for creating a long and lean body too! Who doesn't strive for these?

Don't underestimate the benefits of practicing pilates as there are many and often more than meets the eye including stress reduction, injury prevention and rehabilitation and better mind and body connection.

If you have ever attended a large Pilates class and been stuck at the back wondering if you are doing the exercises correctly and struggled to locate your 'core' or even know what it truly is or how it works in conjunction with the exercises and everyday life, then trying a small group (2-6 people) or one-to-one sessions with a Pilates instructor could be just right for you.

To truly gain the benefits of Pilates really going back to the very principles at the heart of this amazing art is essential and from there progress can be made to identify and address weaknesses and build more challenging exercises into the sessions when you are ready. 

What we love about Pilates is that it is such an inclusive form of exercise whatever your age, fitness or experience , there is always a range of exercises and adaptions that are possible. 

Set some 'me time' aside and explore the joy of Pilates. 

Red Hot Personal Training and Pilates offers tailored one-to-one or small group Pilates sessions carried out in your own home, work or local park to help you realise the true Joy of Pilates.

Journey to Becoming a Runner

A little nervous and anticipating what was to come, Debbie lined up against almost 400 others at the start line of Horshams 5k ParkRun.  Not once had she imagined herself running this distance.

Just six weeks ago Debbie started training with Red Hot Personal Training (RHPT) with the aim of becoming fitter and to achieve inch loss.  At first we focused on incorporating strength training and small bursts of running to increase her aerobic capacity, burn fat and increase muscle tone.  Her positive enthusiasm and the way that she embraced the training, nutrition and lifestyle changes given by RHPT have not only seen her loose weight (fat loss/inch loss) but also the ability of achieving so much more than she thought possible.

"Just one minute, that is all you need to run for" is what Debbie became familiar hearing on our training sessions.  That quickly increased to three minute bursts after just a few weeks with Debbie starting to notice her improvements.

It is so important to set yourself training goals and we thought that a 5K ParkRun would be perfect for Debbie as she was really enjoying running and showed excellent improvement as the weeks progressed.

The minutes ticked by during the first Kilometre of the 5k ParkRun and Debbie showed little signs of slowing.  We paced the run so she would not start too fast and then burn out and we tackled the slight inclines of the terrain using mental methods allowing her to drive upwards with ease.

As a Personal Trainer, I am always delighted and in awe when my clients achieve a personal goal, like the nurturing of a baby bird that learns how to use its wings and fly for the first time.

Crossing the finish line Debbie asked if we had achieved it in under 45-50 minutes (a goal time we had set) "Oh yes I said, you have smashed it and did it in 38 minutes and 40 seconds!"

Well done Debbie, I am so proud of you! 

If you were inspired by Debbie and would like to try a ParkRun just visit http://www.parkrun.org.uk and if you need any help with the training please get in touch with us here at RHPT. 

Do you know the benefits of drinking water?

Click on the video to watch a short video highlighting many of the benefits of drinking water.  Drink up everyone!

Brought to you by Red Hot Personal Training, Sussex.

How 'Blue Space' can benefit you

We have often talked about the benefits of being outside for a healthy mind and body and achieving the balance between high intensity and lower impact exercise.  On those essential recovery days that your body requires to rest and repair from more intense activities, why not benefit from so called 'blue space'.

Much like the benefits of being amongst 'green space', 'blue space' (including seas, rivers, lakes and larger ponds) is said to have a great impact on our health and wellbeing.  

Anyone who has taken a long walk (or even sat and read a book) along the seafront or around a beautiful lake knows that calming and de-stressing effect it can have on you and a more relaxed body and mind will be better prepared to endure those more strenuous exercise sessions that really push you to your limits!

Try it and make a mental note of how you feel afterwards!

If you feel someone you know could benefit from this advice don't forget to hit the 'share' button.